"Man I Am" is a song by English singer
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...
for ''
Barbie the Album
''Barbie the Album'' is the soundtrack album for the 2023 film ''Barbie'', directed by Greta Gerwig. It was released by Atlantic Records on July 21, 2023, the same day as the film's North American theatrical release. The album was produced by M ...
'', the soundtrack of the 2023 film ''
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...
''. It was released on 21 July 2023, as the album's third promotional single.
Background
On 25 May 2023, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' announced a partial tracklist of the ''
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...
''
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
, with two additional tracks and surprise artists to be revealed at a later date.
On 10 July, Smith was revealed as the second surprise artist of the soundtrack, with their song "Man I Am" being released on 21 July.
On 12 July, Smith teased the song on
Twitter
Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
with a clip from the film.
Production
Smith was invited by ''Barbie'' director
Greta Gerwig
Greta Celeste Gerwig ( ; born August 4, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. Initially known for working on various mumblecore films, she has since expanded from acting in and co-writing independent films to directing ...
and soundtrack producer
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...
to write a song from
Ken's perspective.
Ronson described the track as "the missing piece of Ken's puzzle" and "put
ing
Ing, ING or ing may refer to:
Art and media
* '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film
* i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group
* The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes''
* "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...
the sound of Ken's liberation perfectly into song".
Personnel
All credits are adapted from CD liner notes of ''
Barbie the Album
''Barbie the Album'' is the soundtrack album for the 2023 film ''Barbie'', directed by Greta Gerwig. It was released by Atlantic Records on July 21, 2023, the same day as the film's North American theatrical release. The album was produced by M ...
''.
*
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...
– songwriter
*
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...
– songwriter, producer
*
Eric Frederic
Eric Burton Frederic (born January 15, 1982), known professionally as Ricky Reed, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter, and the founder of Nice Life Recording Company. In 2005, he formed the musical project Wallpaper., which last ...
– songwriter, producer, piano, synthesizers, guitar, drum programming
* Ethan Shumaker – engineering
*
David Odlum
David Odlum is an Irish music producer, engineer, guitarist, and drummer who has worked and played with Academy Award winners and Mercury Prize nominees. Originally a member of Kíla, a band which was founded during his schooldays at Coláiste Eo ...
– Sam Smith vocal engineering
*
Manny Marroquin
Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...
– mixing
Charts
References
{{Barbie, state=autocollapse
Songs from Barbie (film)
2023 songs
2023 singles
Atlantic Records singles
Capitol Records singles
Sam Smith (singer) songs
Songs written by Mark Ronson
Songs written by Ricky Reed
Songs written by Sam Smith (singer)
Song recordings produced by Mark Ronson